black snakeroot

noun

1. a tall bugbane, Cimicifuga racemosa, of the buttercup family, of eastern North America, having thin, tapering, toothed or deeply cut leaflets and branched clusters of small, white flowers.

Word History and Origins

Origin of black snakeroot¹

An Americanism dating back to 1690–1700

Example Sentences

Sometimes folks got black snakeroot from the woods, biled it, and gave the tea to sick folks; that was to clean off the stomach.

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